Leadership of Team and Organization: Assignment on Team and Leadership- NO PLAGIARISM PLEASE

Organizational Leadership Mini Case – Mick and the Boy Scouts

Your friend Mick is an experienced and capable building carpenter. He has years of experience building homes and other types of wood frame structures. Mick tells you that he just had the most awful week of his life. He then proceeds to describe what happened. Last week Mick accompanied a troop of 25 boy scouts, ages 10-13 years old, to a rustic scout campground for five days. Mick was asked to lead the group in the building of a large gathering shelter for use by scouts when they camp at this location. Mick was chosen for this task because of his knowledge and experience in building wood frame structures. Mick estimated this project to take about two full days of work by about 20 boys. Mick had made all of the advance arrangements for the materials to be delivered to the site ahead of the arrival of the group. The group arrived at 9:00 AM on Monday and unloaded their personal gear. The materials for the construction project were on the site, but there was nothing else in the immediate area. Mick promptly began laying out bundles of lumber and tools. He laid out formations of the wood on the ground and instructed groups of boys to nail the boards together. He told the boys to start nailing and not to ask any questions until they were done with that task. The extra boys who were not assigned to a lumber bundle were instructed to begin separating materials into designated groupings of nails, metal plates, measuring tapes, levels, bags of concrete, etc. Very soon the boys began to complain about being hungry, and asked about what would be served for lunch. They noticed ants on the ground and started talking about where they would sleep and how they were going to keep ants out of their sleeping bags. One boy was bit by a spider and wandered around asking if anyone had a first aid kit with anti-bacterial lotion. Some boys headed out to look for bathroom facilities. Others started asking about something to drink. One boy asked Mick if he thought there might be a bear in the woods. Mick had to laugh. Eventually, none of the boys seemed to be “on task” and it was only 11:00 AM…. just two hours into their five day trip. Mick could not understand why the boys wouldn’t just follow his detailed instructions and stay motivated to work on the project. Finally, Mick decided to take a lunch break and he led the boys to a neighboring campsite that included a large cabin with a kitchen fully stocked with food and 30 sleeping bunks. He also showed them the latrines and showers located in outbuildings. After lunch, he led the boys back to the work site and continued giving them detailed instructions about assembling the wood structures that eventually would be raised into a shelter formation. Still, the boys seemed unmotivated. Mick found that there were too many of the boys for him to effectively supervise. Groups of boys would finish a task and then have to wait around for him to get back to them with the next set of instructions.

Some of the boys had a talent for the work and seemed to enjoy doing it as long as they were kept busy. These boys even started showing others how to mark the boards and nail the connector plates. Others were just completely uninterested in construction work and spent their time talking, playing around or wandering through the wooded area. At the end of the first day, they walked back to the cabin for dinner. Some of the boys who had no interest in construction were excited about building a fire and cooking hamburgers and hot dogs for the others. A few grumbled a bit about having to clean up the kitchen after dinner, but they did a good job and seemed to take pride in their work. Around the evening campfire, Mick finally had the courage to ask the boys why they were not excited about building a shelter. One boy responded by saying “building a what?” Another boy asked what the shelter would look like when it is finished. Mick pulled the plans out of his folder and all the boys gathered around to see them. They studied the plans and listened intently to Mick’s descriptions with growing interest. The next day seemed to go better than the first, but still there were boys who lost interest after just a couple of hours, and others who showed little interest in participating in the construction work. After a long day of work, the tired group headed back to the cabin with still a half-day of work left. Because of some light rain, the group did not have a campfire that night. By Wednesday morning, the shelter began to take shape and the boys showed a bit more excitement as they talked about what kinds of activities they might be able to hold in the shelter. One boy realized excitedly that they could make their evening fire under the shelter and roast marshmallows even if it rained. By noon the shelter was finished. Mick announced to the group that for the rest of the trip, they would be allowed to participate in the activities on the far end of the campground. These activities included swimming, horseback riding, and archery. The boys were surprised and elated. None of them knew that this campground offered these activities and Mick was pleased with himself for being able to keep it a secret. For the next two and a half days, the boys enjoyed non-stop fun. After telling you this story about his frustrating week, Mick asked you if you think he made any mistakes in how he handled the situation. He asked you to describe what you would have done differently and why. Fully discuss what you believe Mick did right and wrong in handling this situation. Describe in detail how you would handle it if you were given this project. Do you see how this scenario might apply to a workplace with adults? Explain fully.